Runo Knows...Grunts
Grunts is a sort of fantasy novel - what am I saying, it IS a fantasy novel - by Mary Gentle.
Set in a Tolkien-esque fantasy land, the forces of good and Light are about to face off with the forces of Dark. The primary viewpoint character is Ashnak, an orc of the tribe Agaku, who are rumored to be near Man in their intelligence.
Tasked with retrieving weapons from a dragon by the nameless necromancer, Ashnak and a few of his companions meet up with two murderous, thieving halflings, Will and Ned Brandiman. They manage to kill the dragon and loot its hoard only to be brought up by the dragon's curse - that the weapons they steal will turn them into what they are.
What the weapons ARE - well, they're approximately Vietnam era weapons from the United States Marine Corps (for the most part - you could probably argue that the AK-47s are from Vietnam as well, thus explaining why no orcs become Soviet soldiers - on the other hand, that might explain the commissars of proper orcish philosophy).
From there, the book follows the results of the orcs attempting to make sure that even simple magic won't cause their weapons to fail, and the ramifications of their actions post-"Last Battle", from raiding supply caravans and fending off sieges to diplomatic overtures and manufacturing contracts. Soon, the entire world finds itself teetering on two different issues - an election and an alien invasion.
The novel is very, very dark humor - graphicly gruesome in parts, yet funny in a subtle sort of way. There are throwaway references to other fantasy and sci-fi works, from the "One Ring" being used as a wedding ring to a Lieutenant "Hikz" discovering a pluckly little blonde human girl that managed to avoid the aliens (though, being an orc, the aliens may have been the lesser of two evils). Even without the inclusion of modern day weapons, a lot of the flavor can readily be enjoyed by fantasy fans and - probably - fantasy RPG players and gamemasters.
(Honestly: I could see roleplaying as the Agaku orcs being quite a hoot - and a telling story about the psychology of roleplayers. Maybe. Perhaps. Or I can leave that for other writers...)
Set in a Tolkien-esque fantasy land, the forces of good and Light are about to face off with the forces of Dark. The primary viewpoint character is Ashnak, an orc of the tribe Agaku, who are rumored to be near Man in their intelligence.
Tasked with retrieving weapons from a dragon by the nameless necromancer, Ashnak and a few of his companions meet up with two murderous, thieving halflings, Will and Ned Brandiman. They manage to kill the dragon and loot its hoard only to be brought up by the dragon's curse - that the weapons they steal will turn them into what they are.
What the weapons ARE - well, they're approximately Vietnam era weapons from the United States Marine Corps (for the most part - you could probably argue that the AK-47s are from Vietnam as well, thus explaining why no orcs become Soviet soldiers - on the other hand, that might explain the commissars of proper orcish philosophy).
From there, the book follows the results of the orcs attempting to make sure that even simple magic won't cause their weapons to fail, and the ramifications of their actions post-"Last Battle", from raiding supply caravans and fending off sieges to diplomatic overtures and manufacturing contracts. Soon, the entire world finds itself teetering on two different issues - an election and an alien invasion.
The novel is very, very dark humor - graphicly gruesome in parts, yet funny in a subtle sort of way. There are throwaway references to other fantasy and sci-fi works, from the "One Ring" being used as a wedding ring to a Lieutenant "Hikz" discovering a pluckly little blonde human girl that managed to avoid the aliens (though, being an orc, the aliens may have been the lesser of two evils). Even without the inclusion of modern day weapons, a lot of the flavor can readily be enjoyed by fantasy fans and - probably - fantasy RPG players and gamemasters.
(Honestly: I could see roleplaying as the Agaku orcs being quite a hoot - and a telling story about the psychology of roleplayers. Maybe. Perhaps. Or I can leave that for other writers...)